HSBC Bank Transfer Scam Compensation:
Claim Refunds for Authorised Push Payment (APP) Fraud

UK banks, including HSBC, have a duty of care to their consumers to detect, monitor, and prevent fraud.

There are a range of procedures and systems that banks can have in place to do so, including:

• Monitoring customer accounts to counter risks.
• Having systems in place to identify unusual transactions, indicators and ‘red flags’ that customers are at risk of fraud.
• Making additional checks (such as a direct phone call) and/or declining processing payments to protect consumers from harm.
• As industry experts, being more aware of common, new and evolving scam tactics.

If you think you have been targeted by an APP scam relating to your HSBC bank account, you should first report this to the bank, the police, and Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.

HSBC should investigate the report and, in some cases, refunds will be made; however, if you are refused a refund and believe that HSBC should have acted to prevent the fraud, then the APP fraud team at TLW Solicitors may be able to help with your claim.

In several complaints upheld by the Financial Ombudsman Service, HSBC has been found not to have sufficiently upheld its responsibilities to its customers, resulting in them losing significant amounts of money.

Company C

Company C, a business customer of HSBC, lost over €30,000 as the result of an intercept scam in which fraudsters used a spoof email address to intercept the communications – namely invoices – between the business and a genuine overseas seller. The fraudster then amended the bank details for the invoice thus diverting the payment to their own account.

HSBC refused to refund Company C as it had approved the transaction to the scammer – despite the fact Company C still believed at the time that the details were for the genuine seller. The complaint was taken to the FOS for an independent review.

The FOS upheld Company C’s complaint against HSBC, determining that the bank had not taken sufficient steps expected of banks to detect and prevent the fraud, and ordering the bank to refund the company in full, plus 8% interest.

Mr and Mrs W

HSBC customers, Mr and Mrs W lost over £9,000 of their savings to a sophisticated investment scam promising ‘high returns’. After finding the ‘investment opportunity’ online the couple visited their local HSBC branch and requested the relevant funds to be transferred from their savings account.

When the promised investment returns did not arrive, Mr and Mrs W realised they had been scammed and reported it to HSBC. The bank refused to refund them the money, again placing the blame on the couple for authorising the transactions.

An independent FOS investigator found in favour of Mr and Mrs W concluding that it was not satisfied that HSBC made sufficient checks to ensure that Mr and Mrs W would be safe from fraud or scams. Given that the scam was so sophisticated, FOS determined that the couple should not bear any responsibility for their losses. HSBC was ordered to repay the full amount lost, plus interest at 8%.

At TLW Solicitors, we have a dedicated APP Fraud team who work diligently with our clients to achieve the best possible outcome from their FOS claim, even if they have been unsuccessful in the past.

We understand the challenging processes and crucial timescales involved in a FOS investigation, and with our mix of expertise and sophisticated case management systems, you can be assured that your case is in the best possible hands. Our compassionate team will keep you up-to-date and informed with the progress of your case throughout.

The specialist fraud team at TLW Solicitors are helping many clients recover refunds on a no-win, no-fee basis. If you have a claim, we will deal with your claim from start to finish, whilst keeping you up to date as the case progresses.

The steps in the claims process are:

1. Submit your claim with us by completing either the online claim form, request a callback, telephone our office, or email us using the contact details provided.
2. A member of the fraud team will discuss your claim with you and advise whether you may have a claim that we can deal with.  If we can assist you, we will send you our welcome pack which contains useful information on what to expect throughout your claim as well as details of what information we’ll need from you.
3. You will be assigned a case handler. If following an initial assessment of your case we think you have a claim, we will be in touch to go through the next steps. If we don’t think you have a claim, we will provide our reasons why so that you may consider other options.
4. Your case handler will ask for and review any additional documentation needed to progress your claim, this will include contacting the banks involved on your behalf. You will be kept up to date by email and phone calls if required.
5. Depending on the circumstances of your case and due to a wide range of factors outside of our control, making a refund claim can take several months to complete – as your case progresses, we will try to give you as much information as possible about the likely timescales. We will continue to update you on your claim, and you will be able to contact your dedicated case handler if there are any issues or concerns.
6. We work on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis, which means that if your claim is unsuccessful, there will be no charge for the work we do.

Members of TLW Solicitors’ APP Fraud scam team have been featured on the BBC’s Morning Live consumer programme and in a BBC One series, ‘Northern Justice’. Episodes from the programme show how TLW Solicitors helped scam victims recover substantial compensation.

Full details about the BBC series and how TLW successfully supported our clients can be found here.